Datuk Adnan Md Ikhsan confirmed that the local council has an estimated surplus of RM217.7 million this year, but insisted DBKL’s controversial plan to raise the annual assessment rates for Kuala Lumpur properties is necessary as the government needed the income.
“What is more important, ladies and gentlemen, the government needs money to provide better services,” Adnan said at an event here organised by the Federal Territories Youth Council, which has joined a growing choir to protest the assessment rate, due to take effect from January 2014.
He did not elaborate on the kind of services.
In the past week, federal lawmakers in the city, including Cheras MP Tan Kok Wai, have pointed that DBKL’s 2013 Budget is comparable to the budget for Selangor, Malaysia’s most industrialised and wealthiest state, in terms of allocation and spending, adding that there is an estimated surplus of RM217.7 million for the year.
“Yes, this is true, but this amount includes the deposit from developers... It also included allowances for certain developments,” Adnan said.
The ministry secretary-general said the deposit in particular, cannot be used for council services since it will withdrawn by developers once they finish their development projects.
He appeared to believe public uproar against the hike was caused by the lack of information on how DBKL calculates the rate increase as well as its methods to appraise the value of property around the national capital city.
In a separate news conference, the FT Youth Council added its voice to resident associations and opposition MPs in the city, calling on DBKL to put its proposal on ice, saying such a move would hurt the financial capabilities of young property owners.
“If decided, we at the Youth Council will be the medium to educate the youths on the proper mechanisms behind the hike,” said Hamizi Mat Juah, president of the FT Youth Council, which is represented by 33 youth groups.
The youth council held a similar view to a Barisan Nasional (BN) lawmaker, Titiwangsa MP Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani, who asked for the hike to be no more than 3 per cent from the previous sum paid, which is close to the average inflation rate in the last two decades.
Real estate owners across KL are up in arms over the arbitrary appraisal of their property values that will result in assessment rates increasing by as much as 250 per cent at some locations next year.
Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor has said the recent notice issued by DBKL to city dwellers was only a suggested rate and that the final decision will be made after obtaining feedback from residents before December 17.
The tax rate for residential properties and commercial properties are 6 per cent and 12 per cent respectively.
The assessment rate hike would reflect the value of properties in Kuala Lumpur, adding that it would aid property owners who wanted to sell or rent their properties, said Tengku Adnan in news reports.
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